The National Republican Congressional Committee is urging House Republicans to frame the government shutdown fight as Democrats seeking healthcare funding for illegal immigrants.
"Every Democrat who voted to shut down the government just delivered a ransom note to their districts: pay for handouts to criminal illegal immigrants, or we will hold your benefits hostage," the NRCC said in a memo, reports The Washington Examiner on Friday.
The memo, arguing that "Democrats are for illegal immigrants, Republicans are for Americans," includes data on 26 swing districts and how many participants in programs such as Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), active-duty service members, and veterans are affected by the shutdown.
The shutdown entered its third day on Friday after Congress failed to pass a GOP-led measure to extend funding until Nov. 21.
Democrats have demanded that any bill address what they call a U.S. healthcare "crisis" and include extensions of expiring Obamacare tax credits, while Republicans counter that Democrats are holding the government "hostage" to push their priorities.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and GOP leaders have made the claim central to their messaging, releasing ads that accuse Democrats of choosing "handouts for illegal immigrants over Americans."
Republicans argue that the Democrats' proposal, which has repeatedly failed in the Senate, would roll back Medicaid cuts and permanently extend Obamacare subsidies while restoring healthcare access for immigrants lawfully in the U.S. under programs such as DACA and Temporary Protected Status.
Democrats insist illegal immigrants cannot receive federally subsidized healthcare under a 1996 law and say their plan would only restore benefits for lawfully present immigrants. Meanwhile, Republicans counter that former President Joe Biden's administration misused the immigration parole system and granted asylum or refugee status too broadly.
Johnson said Thursday that Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris "intentionally opened the border" for four years.
"They granted them all asylum, they gave them all this parole status, so they could get rolled onto taxpayer benefits," he said. "We're going to do right by Americans and not everybody else."
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